Project portfolio management without a two-quarter implementation
Enterprise PPM suites are powerful and slow to land. Pocket PMO gives a small PMO the parts that matter — portfolio RAG, prioritisation, capacity, programme milestones and benefits — configured on day one, with approval-first AI drafting the reporting.
Portfolio roll-up
Health, next milestone, open risks and budget position for every project on one screen.
Prioritisation
Score and rank candidate work so the portfolio reflects value and capacity, not volume.
Capacity heatmap
See who is over-allocated across projects before you commit to another delivery date.
Programme milestones
Cross-project milestones and dependencies on a single timeline.
Benefits realisation
Track outcomes after closure, not just outputs delivered.
Pipeline to closure
Ideas and demand flow through pipeline, delivery and lessons in the same tool.
What portfolio management actually requires
Portfolio management is three questions asked repeatedly: are we doing the right work, can we actually staff it, and is what we finished worth what it cost? The software has to make all three answerable without a monthly spreadsheet exercise.
- Consistent health — the same RAG definition applied everywhere, derived from delivery data rather than optimism.
- Demand and prioritisation — a visible pipeline with scoring, so "no" has a reason attached.
- Capacity — allocation across projects, by person or by role.
- Programme view — dependencies and milestones that cross project boundaries.
- Benefits — measurement after closure, with an owner.
Where this sits against enterprise PPM
Enterprise PPM tools model resource cost, financial forecasting and scenario planning at a depth we do not attempt. They also assume a central admin team and an implementation project. If you have those, buy those.
Pocket PMO is aimed at the two-to-ten project portfolio run by a small team or a fractional PMO: the governance and reporting depth of a PPM tool, with the setup cost of a subscription. See the honest category comparison.
The reporting the portfolio actually gets judged on
A portfolio board pack is normally a week of consolidation. Here it is a Snapshot: portfolio RAG, milestone position, top risks, decisions taken and change record, assembled from live data and branded to your organisation. Sponsors can interrogate the shared report themselves, which removes most of the follow-up.
Reports can be scheduled weekly or monthly so the cycle runs without you. Detail on the PMO dashboard and project reporting pages.
Getting a portfolio in without a data migration
Create projects from short descriptions and the plan, phases and registers are generated for you to edit; or start from the free template library. Free guided setup is available if you would rather be walked through the first portfolio.
Try it with sample data in the sandbox first — no account needed.
Frequently asked questions
What is project portfolio management software?
It is software for managing a collection of projects as a portfolio rather than individually: consistent health reporting, demand and prioritisation, capacity planning across projects, programme-level milestones and dependencies, and benefits measurement after delivery.
How is it different from project management software?
Project management software runs a single project well. Portfolio software adds the cross-project layer — comparison, prioritisation, shared capacity and roll-up reporting — which is where most spreadsheets appear.
How many projects does it handle?
It is designed for the small-to-mid portfolio, typically two to a few dozen projects per workspace, with separate workspaces available per client for consultancies.
Does it do resource cost modelling?
It tracks budget, spend and capacity by person or role. It does not attempt the deep financial and scenario modelling of an enterprise PPM suite — if that is your primary requirement, an enterprise tool is a better fit.
What does it cost?
Pro is £30 per month for a single project manager and PMO is £120 per month for up to five users, with a 15-day free trial. Enterprise is priced on request.
See Pocket PMO in action
Try the interactive demo or start a free 15-day trial — cancel anytime.